Sourav Ganguly Believes Hardik Pandya has Emerged as Great Asset for India

Oct 15, 2017 at 5:31 PM

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Sourav Ganguly Believes Hardik Pandya has Emerged as Great Asset for India

India’s former skipper Sourav Ganguly has lauded the all-round efforts of seam-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya for playing a decent part in the recently concluded limited-overs series against Australia.

“The biggest plus for me has been Hardik Pandya,” Ganguly wrote in his column for ToI.

India Vs Australia, Hardik Pandya, Match Winner, Sourav Ganguly, Men in Blue
Ganguly termed Hardik Pandya as a match winner. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

(Read also: Hardik Pandya Is Potentially The Next Kapil Dev, Believes Ian Chappell)

The 24-year-old aggressive Pandya has been a revelation for India, as he has featured across formats in his relatively short international career so far in a bid to emerge as the match-winning professional.

“He has shown progression in his game and in the last few months, has evolved as one more match-winner for the country,” Ganguly wrote.

India Vs Australia, Hardik Pandya, Match Winner, Sourav Ganguly, Men in Blue
Pandya made his international debut against Australia at Adelaide in January 2016. Photo Credit: AFP.

The 45-year-old cricketer-turned-commentator and concurrently the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Ganguly feels Pandya has to work hard on his strength – to continue bringing desired results for the formidable national side.

“He has natural talent, good temperament, be it batting or bowling and will need to keep on channelising this in the right direction over a period of time,” Ganguly remarked.

India Vs Australia, Hardik Pandya, Match Winner, Sourav Ganguly, Men in Blue
Pandya bagged 49 wickets in three international formats. Photo Credit: BCCI.

Earlier, Virat Kohli-led India lifted the 50-over trophy after routing Australia 4-1, as T20 series was held at 1-1 after Hyderabad fixture on October 13 was called off due to a soggy field at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

The Hosts made things miserable for the visitors who saw the Steven Smith-led Australia gone down without fighting except for Bengaluru fixture, as the middle-order line-up sparked a severe slump.

“India dominated the series in all aspects against Australia except for a few blemishes here and there after their Test series win in the early part of the year,” Ganguly added.

Ganguly reiterated the prolific show from the national side has had boosted the morale of the youngsters particularly in the 20-over fixtures.

“They completed the cycle with a good performance in the shorter versions of the game,” Ganguly further added.

While banking on his strength, Pandya has a decent average of 40.76 in his 26 One-day internationals he has played so far, as he has four fifties to his name in 16 innings.

While talking about promising batsman, Ajinkya Rahane Ganguly stated the Maharashtra-born top-order batsman has a lot on offer in T20 format.

“Rahane needs to be kept in the loop as an opener for T20s also because he definitely has value at the top,” Ganguly concluded.

India Vs Australia, Hardik Pandya, Match Winner, Sourav Ganguly, Men in Blue
Pandya made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Galle in Colombo in July 2017. Photo Credit: AFP.

However, while observing the dominance of Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, Ganguly remarked it’s too early to make the point after admitting the fact that slow bowlers did enjoy the lion’s share.

Ganguly, who had the batting average in the range of 40 to 45 across format, as he went on to play 311 ODIs and 113 Tests for India between 1992 and 2008 expressed

Concluding, according to Ganguly, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami must be allowed to play in the shorter version of the game, as Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have played a significant role as death bowling specialists.

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